Skirt hanger



Sept. 6, 1938. I w|$EHART ET AL 2,129,455

' SKIRT HANGER Filed Nov. 24, 1957 [1014166 D. Bella's L. Wise/zarfi Patented Sept. 6, 1938 v UNIT D STATES PATENT optics Trail,

Application November 24, 1937, Serial No. 176,336

5' Claim.

This invention relates to an improved skirt hanger especially adapted for use in conjunction with conventional wire coat hangers of the kind atpresent so widely in vogue.

An object of the invention is to provide a skirt hanger which will adapt the conventional wire hanger mentioned to the dual purpose 'of. supporting a coat and, at the same time, also supporting a skirt so that the shape and neat appearance of both will be restored and preserved.

Another object of the invention is to provide. a skirt hanger which may be readily attached to a conventional wire coat hanger or as easily detached therefrom, and which will be simple, eflicient and compact so that should a person so desire, a pair of the devices may be carried in a purse, for instance, and applied for use as occasion may demand.

A further object of the invention is to provide a skirt hanger which may be readily adjusted along the bottom bar of the coat hanger to suit the width of a skirt at the waist band thereof, so that the device will thus be adapted for a wide range of use, and wherein the resiliency of the bottom bar of the coat hanger will be utilized to maintain the waist band more or less taut and thus not only tend to free the skirt of wrinkles butalso tend to maintain the hanger engaged with the 'waist band.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a skirt hanger embodying a coil adapted to be screwed onto'the bottom bar of the coat hanger for attaching the skirt hanger thereto, but wherein said coil will be composed of. few turns of steep pitch to thus provide, notwithstanding the small number of turns, an elongated sleeve normally connecting the hanger slidahly with said bar to move easily therealong while, when the skirt hanger is tilted by the weight of a skirt thereon, the canting pressure on the coil will he concentrated at the small area presented by a few turns only, to thus afiord a correspondingly efiective frictional grip of the coil on said bar for 1 maintaining the hanger in adjusted position supporting the skirt.

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide a skirt hanger equipped at its outer end with a novel spring clamp with which the waist band of a skirt may be readily engaged, and wherein a clamping button will be provided and so mounted that the weight of the shirt will constantly tend to shift the button in a direction to bind the button more tightly in engagement with the waist band for efiectually securing the skirt upon the hanger.

' present instance.

Other'and incidental objects of the invention will appear during the course of the following description and in the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing our improved hanger in conjunction with a conventional wire coat hanger, a portion of a skirt being illustrated in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a detail perspective view showing the hanger detached.

Figure 3 is a fragmentaryperspective view showing a slight variation of the invention.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective .view showing another slight variation of the invention.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, it will be seen that our improved device comprises a long arm id and a somewhat shorter arm l I, the two arms standing at a, slightly obtuse anglewith respect to each other. The device is preferably formed from a length of relatively stifl resilient wire of suitable gauge and at the free end of-the arm it, the wire is twisted to provide an open helical coil I2 terminating in a curved free tip it. As will be observed, the coil preferably comprises only a few turns, two turns being shown in the At the free end of the arm ii, the wire is looped upwardly or, in other words, in the direction of the arm it to form an inverted substantially U-shaped clamp M, one jaw iii of which in- 30 clines toward the arm II to abut. thereagainst near its upper end while the other jaw it of said clamp inclines downwardly toward the lower end of, the jaw ld'to provide a reduced throat between the jaws at the lower end of the clamp, the jaw it terminating in an eye ll. Freely slidable on the jaw it is a clamping button it which may he of any suitable material and is limited against displacement by the eye ll.

In order to hetterbring out the mounting and m use 01 our improved skirt hanger, we have shown the device in conjunction with a conventional resilient wire coat hanger. embodying the usual hook it, sides 28 and bottom bar ti. To attach the present device, the arm It, as suggested in Figure 20f the drawing, is disposed in alignment with the bottom bar ti, when the tip it of the coil it is engagedabout the adjacent end of the bar. By then rotating the device, the coil it will be screwed onto said bar to engage thereabout, connecting the device with the coat hanger.

it is now to be observed that the coil 42 is of a diameter to somewhat loosely receive the bar it of the coat hanger so that, as shown in Figure l, the device may cant relative to the bar. Furtaut while also, the skirt hangers will be ing engagement with the coil is extremely steep so that notwithstanding the fact the coil comprises only two complete .turns, the coil is nevertheless, of suflicient length to form an elongated sleeve slidably mounting the skirt hanger so that by disposing the arm III in parallel relation to the bar 2|, the device may then be freely adjusted along said bar.

In practice, a pair of the devices is mounted upon the coat hanger, as shown in Figure 1, and, as will now be perceived, by adjusting the skirt hangers along the bar to the proper position, the waist band of a skirt, as conventionally shown in dotted lines at 22, may be readily slid upwardly into the clamps ll when, by spreading the skirt hangers, the waist band will be drawn canted downwardly. Thus, the coils 12 will be caused to frictionally grip the bar 2! and, of course, upon the release of the skirt by the operator, the weight of the will serve to maintain the skirt hangers canted and urge the coils l2 into-bindbar 2|. For such reason, the arms Ill of the hangers are longer than the arms H, since, as will now be seen, when a skirt is engaged with the hangers, the arms ID will serve as levers acting under the weight of the'skirt to cant the coils I! with augmented force into engagement with the bar 2| so that slipping of the skirt hangers will be effectually forestalled. As will be appreciated, the clamps II will provide handles which may be conveniently grasped between the thumb and forefinger for adjusting the skirt hangers relative to each other.

After the waistband of the skirt has been engaged in the clamps M, as previously described, the buttons l8 are manually shifted downwardly along the jaws It to wedge against the waist band and thus tension said jaws to resiliently hold the buttons engaged with the waist band. Furthermore, any tendency of the waist band to slip downwardly, under the weight of the skirt, will tend to shift the buttons further downwardly on the jaws l6 and thus increasethe tension of the jaws on the buttons so that the skirt will be securely held on the hangers. Also, in this connection, it is to be noted that due to the upward inclination of the jaws IS, the loops at the lower ends of said jaws provide humps 23 over which the waist band of the skirt extends. Thus, the distance between the humps 23 of the two hangers is greater than the distance between the upper ends of the jaws I! of said hangers so that the waist band, after being drawn taut between the hangers, cannot ride over the humps 23- to become accidentally released.

As will be appreciated, tension on the waist band of the skirt 22 will not only tend to eliminate wrinkles about the waist of the skirt but will also tend to cause the coils It t'ogrip the bar 2| more solidly to'obviate slipping and by slightly bowing the bar 21 upwardly at the time the skirt is engagedwith the the canting action of the skirt hangers. the re-' be utilized to. augment skirt on said coils. As will be perceived, the bowed bar II will, upon the release thereof, tend to straighten and thus resiliently urge the clamps "of the two hangers apart against the limiting "action of the waist band of the skirt, thus tending to further cant the siliency of said bar may arms II of the hangers with consequent increased ppin of the coils on the bar 2|.

7 The coils |2 each comprise only a few turns. a! stated. so that the cantlngpressure onth'p coils willbe concentrated-in the corre: I

.the canting pressure is diameter to loosely at the lower end of the other. of

form an inverted substantially U-shaped skirt arms one terminating in a thermore, it is to be noted that the pitchof the limited area presented to the bar 2| by such small number of turns. Experiment has shown that when a large number of turns are used, the canting pressure is distributed between the turns with the result that no one turn is caused to frictionally bite the bar 2| effectually. In contrast, by using only two complete turns in each coil, intensified in the small areas in eflectlve contact with the bar so that the frictional grip of the coils on the bar is correspondingly more pronounced and slipping prevented.

In Figure 3 of the drawing we have shown a slight variation of the invention wherein the coil |2a of the skirt hanger is provided with a terminal eye 24 permanently connecting the hanger with the bar 2| of the coat hanger. A pair of the skirt hangers will, of course, be employed.

In Figure 4 we have shown another slight variation wherein the bottom bar 210 of the coat hanger is bent at each end to provide a depending stop loop 25. x As will be perceived, these loops will prevent removal of a pair of the skirt hangers from the bar. Otherwise, the variations shown in Figure 3 and 4 of the drawing are identical with the construction first described and the same reference numerals have accordingly been applied to like parts throughout.

Having thus described our invention, we

gripping sleeve of a diameter to loosely receive the bottom bar oi a coat hanger for slidably connecting the skirt hanger with said bar, and the other of said arms terminating in a skirt engaging clamp, the coil being movable to cant and frictionally grip said bar under the weight of a skirt engaged with said clamp.

2. A skirt hanger including angularly disposed arms one terminating in' a helical coil .of few turns but steep pitch and open at its free end to wind about the bottom bar of a coat hanger as the coil is rotated for connecting the coil with said bar,'and the other. of said arms terminating in a skirt engaging clamp, the coii'being of a receive said bar for slidably connectingthe skirt movable to cant and frictionally grip the bar under the weight of clamp.

3. Askirt hanger formed from a length of wire bent. to provide ang arly longer than the other and twisted to form an elongated helical coil of few turns but steep pitch to provide an elongated gripping sleeve of a diameter to loosely receivethe bottom bar of a coat hanger for slidably connecting the skirt hanger with said bar, and the wire being looped said arms to engaging clamp having downwardly converging jaws one of which is free, and a clamping button slidableon said-free jaw, the coil being movable to cant and frictionally grip said bar under the weight of a skirt disposed between the jaws of said clamp and engaged by said button.

4. A skirt hanger including angularly disposed I helical coil of few turns but steep pitch to provide an elongated gripping sleeve of a'diameter to loosely receive the bottom bar of a coat, hanger for slldably connecting the skirt hanger with said bar and terminatlnlinanere'limitingtheskirthanger hanger therewith and beinga skirt engaged with saiddisposed arms one 10 gripping sleeve loosely receiving said her to slidahly connect the skirt hanger therewith, the her being turned at its ends with stop loops limiting thecoil against removal from said her, and the other of said arms terminating in a. skirt engaging clamp, the coil being movable to cent and frictionaiiy grip said her under the weight of a skirt engaged with said clamp.

Homes DALE WISEHART. DELLIB LEWIS wmmnm'r. 

